Vols underdogs for a change against Kentucky
KNOXVILLE — Tennessee has thoroughly dominated its football series with Kentucky.
This Saturday, though, the Volunteers will be in an unfamiliar role against the Wildcats: underdogs.
Needing two wins in its last three games to secure its fifth bowl invitation this decade, Tennessee will host a Kentucky team that is 7-2 overall, 5-2 in the Southeastern Conference and ranked 12th in the nation.
The Vols (4-5, 1-4) also will host Missouri (5-4, 1-4) next week, at 3:30 p.m., and visit Vanderbilt (4-5, 1-4) on Nov. 24 for the season finale. Those teams are fighting for bowl bids also.
Kentucky already is assured of a bowl but is coming off a 34-17 loss to fifth-ranked Georgia and is playing for high-level bowl status.
“We’re going to play a really good football team this weekend,” Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt said Monday. “I followed Coach (Mark) Stoops at Florida State (as defensive coordinator), so I know firsthand what his teams are all about. They’re going to be very well-coached and hard-nosed. He does a fantastic job evaluating talent, and they have a lot of experience: I think they start 15 seniors, and you can see on both sides of the ball, they’re tough, they’re physical.
“They want to run the football offensively, and they have a very athletic quarterback. It feels like some of these guys have been playing forever. They’ve got playmakers on the outside, and they’re very multiple.
“Defensively, they’re sound. They stop the run, really good in the red area. They give multiple looks, they have good pass rushers, got good guys out on the edges that deny the ball. On special teams, they show multiple looks. They’ve got good returners; the punter does an outstanding job. We’re going to have to be at our best; it will be a tremendous challenge for us.”
Historically, Tennessee has controlled the series against the Wildcats, with a 79-25-9 edge. But it’s Kentucky that is a 3.5-point favorite coming into Saturday’s game against the youthful Vols.
“This is an important game because it’s the next game, whether it’s Kentucky or whoever it is,” Tennessee defensive lineman Kyle Phillips said. “We’re just focused on Kentucky
right now. We don’t care about the past because every year is a new year, so we’re just focused on the new year.”
The Vols haven’t been in a bowl since defeating Nebraska 38-24 in the 2016 Music City Bowl, capping a 9-4 season. Since then, the program has eight wins, with only two coming against SEC competition.
Two more wins this season would fulfill that goal — and springboard the program into 2019.
“It would be great to finish my career off with a bowl game, especially for the new staff,” fifth-year senior Todd Kelly Jr. said. “That’s the goal, to win all the games left on the schedule and not sell ourselves short for anything less than that. It would be big-time. I know that it’s one of my goals and dreams to hopefully finish off my career playing in a bowl game for the University of Tennessee.”